Danny Gray was disappointed by his production last season. When the San Francisco 49ers made the wide receiver a third-round draft pick in 2022, it was with the hope that his blazing speed would open things up for the offense.
Gray finished his rookie season with one catch for 10 yards.
It wasn't what the receiver, the 49ers, or the fans had imagined. Gray is confident that he is the fastest player on the team. However, speed alone isn't enough to carry him in the NFL. After a disappointing first season, Gray knew he needed to make some life changes this offseason if he hoped to have a successful pro career.
That meant taking out all the things that weren't important in his life and replacing them with football.
"I just stopped all the hanging out and playing the games," Gray recently told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. "And I replaced it with football. I make sure I take two-and-a-half hours out of my day to just study my plays, study my concepts, study my formations. Study the depths and the landmarks on the routes."
Danny Gray reported to training camp in great shape. However, it will take more than that to convince his coaches that he deserves more opportunities on the football field. The receiver sounds as if he is up to the challenge.
"I can tell he's in shape, but that's [all] you can tell on one day, is whether they're in shape or not," Shanahan said last week, after the 49ers' first training camp practice. "But we'll see how he handles this whole camp. I thought he had a pretty good OTAs, took a step forward, and came back in good shape, and we'll see, as he gets more reps and more opportunities and stuff, how much better he's gotten."
The 49ers have a lot of depth at wide receiver. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are at the top of the depth chart. Jauan Jennings has proven to be a valuable clutch receiver. Still, none of them can match Gray's speed. The second-year wideout ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the Combine.
That speed needs to be part of his toolbox, not the only tool at his disposal.
"Anytime you're the fastest guy on the team and stuff, you are a guy who can make defenses defend all three levels," Shanahan said. "And if you can isolate on those routes very well and run those consistently, and when they don't honor it, we throw at you, and you catch it, that's a hell of a role. And if you can own that, he's got the advantage with that because of his 40-time.
"So that's a big one for him, but we also have other guys who can run, too. You also don't just put guys out there to do only one thing, so you just got to develop in everything. That's kind of what he was born to do, but he's got skill sets to where he can be out there in everything, but he's got to get more consistent so, eventually, he can dominate the role that he's the most talented at."
Click here to read Branch's entire feature for the San Francisco Chronicle.